X-Unit
by Hamsta97
Summary: Six British kids are offered mutant training with a special teacher their school has found. Then the teacher goes rogue and the six kids discover that they are the only ones who can stop his army with the help of Wolverine, Storm and the younger X-Men. Please R&R! T for swearing and occasional violence
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own the X-Men.**

**A/N: OK, this idea came to me in a really boring Maths class. The X-Men only have small roles apart from Storm and Wolverine. Six kids discover they have mutant talents and their school hires a special teacher to train them. Then the teacher goes rogue and only the six kids, along with help from their X-Men friends, can stop him and his army! Please read and review!**

The headmaster frowned as he let the medical experts and his deputy in. He was a stubborn, proud man and indicated that the experts could sit down. His deputy allowed another man in a wheelchair in.

"Hello Professor." said McClair, the headmaster.

The bald man inclined his head. "I'm sure you are all aware of the mutant situation. It hasn't been as prevalent in Britain as it is in America. I and my team have done a fair amount of research and discovered that in every region there are approximately ten mutants. It would appear that most of them have more than one power."

"I see. You said that you believe we have mutants in this school, correct?"

The professor nodded. "Yes. Most mutants are widely spread but you seem to have half this region's mutants in this school. We don't know who they are but I know they have discovered their powers and two of them are related. We need to discuss how to channel their powers."

McClair nodded and they got down to business.


	2. Meet the Mutants!

**A/N: OK, I'm British so I don't really understand the grades in America. The way it works in Britain is that you arrive at secondary school at age 11 and that's called year 7. Ages 12-13 are year 8, 13-14 are year 9, 14-15 is year 10 and the final year is year 11 aged 15-16. Then we go to 6****th**** form at age 16 and we stay for 2 years. Then at age 18 we go to Uni. If you have no idea what I just said and the whole 'year' stuff is confusing you just PM me and I'll explain. Again, please review!**

Nicky unlocked her locker and stashed her P.E. kit inside.

"Hey Nicky!" shouted somebody.

She turned to see her classmate and best friend Victoria waving over the heads of several Year Sevens.

"C'mon!"

Nicky rolled her eyes and picked her way through the younger kids. Normally she'd jump clear over their heads but today she couldn't care less. Vic said nothing, leading the way over to their class. Miss Holmes, the Religion teacher narrowed her eyes at their late arrival as well as Nicky's scruffy appearance but said nothing.

"Right class, I believe we have two mutants in this class. You are to go to the Sports Hall at three o'clock today. Now, on with the lesson."

Nicky slumped in her seat. She didn't know who the other mutant was and at the moment she didn't care. She'd had a bitch of a day, failing a test, getting a patronising lecture for failing said test not to mention that in P.E. somebody had blasted her in the head with a hockey ball that had come from the back so she hadn't seen it and dodged in time. Basically, she was furious with a killer headache and an uncomfortable uniform. And now she had to stay behind after school.

"Sit up Nicola."

Nicky bit back a frustrated yell. "My name's Nicky Miss, not Nicola."

It wasn't even her full name, Nicky was what appeared on the register but the bitch teacher refused to listen or read it appeared.

_After school_

Cian loped down to the Sports Hall. He swung the door open and stepped inside. He didn't know who he expected to see but it wasn't his long-term crush. Nicky was leaning against the wall, eyes flickering around. Cian grinned. She was basically him in female form; a mischief maker, quick-thinking and clever. He was taller than her, over 6 foot while she scraped 5'10. Plus she had long brown hair and hazel eyes, something Cian thought was beautiful.

"Didn't expect to see you here." he said.

Nicky glanced over. "Ditto. Tara's gonna be here in a minute."

"Tara?"

She explained, "My cousin. She's eleven, one of the Year Sevens."

Cian winced. Year Sevens were loud. She laughed and he sat next to her. The door opened again and two more boys walked in. They were Year Elevens, Joe Birch and Mickey White, both troublemakers and clever. They greeted the others and sat on the floor in front of them.

"What are you doin' here?" asked Joe.

Nicky grinned. "I'm a mutant dick."

The insult was passed off easily. Joe and Nicky had known each other since they were three and treated each other like they were siblings. Then a small girl with shoulder-length brown hair and blue eyes walked in.

"Hey Tara. Sit over here." called Nicky.

Tara hurried over, glad Nicky was already there. She was slightly intimidated by the three older boys, something that didn't fade as they exchanged insults and swore at each other.

"How was your day?" asked Nicky.

Tara shrugged. "I passed my Maths test."

"Lucky you. I failed my Biology and got a patronising lecture off Mr Robinson-York. Then someone smashed a hockey ball into my head. _Then_ Miss Holmes got my name wrong _again_. One thing after another."

The sixth mutant stepped inside and stopped still. The other teens glanced over and saw, to their minor irritation, Maria Ashbeki. She'd arrived in England from India when she was seven and had made friends with Nicky. They'd then drifted when they'd hit high school, being polar opposites.

"Hello." said Maria icily.

She disliked Nicky now for two reasons. One was the fact that Nicky was a trickster and viewed school as a place to have fun, pull pranks and generally not work. Maria was a worker and viewed it as a place to study hard, follow the rules and accept anything the school said. Plus there was the fact that Cian and Nicky flirted pretty much constantly and Maria had had a crush on Cian for three years.

"Hi. Sit down with us." invited Nicky.

She didn't get on with Maria, they always ended up arguing over their different attitudes to life, but she wouldn't try and exclude her.

"Settle down you six. You should be trained in the use of your powers." said Mr Cooper.

"Sir, I don't mean to be rude or anything but… none of you are mutants are you? So, how can you train us?" asked Nicky.

Mr Cooper inclined his head to her. "We can't. But we have hired someone who can. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, you will be trained by your new teacher. Would you like to introduce yourself?"

The teacher, previously hidden behind another person stepped forwards. He was tall, dark-haired and clearly unimpressed by what he saw in front of him.

"It may be best if you left now. We're going to be doing some quite rigorous training. Go and get changed." He addressed the last statement to the waiting teens who hurried to their changing rooms.

They changed quickly and headed back down.

"My name is Philip Morse but you can call me Manifesto. Now, shall we get down to business? I will reveal my powers and you will show me yours."

He shifted to resemble Mr Cooper before splitting himself into multiple copies.

"Well that's pretty neat." commented Cian.

Then all the copies turned back into Manifesto. Then one copy raised his arms and narrowed his eyes. Nothing happened. The copies shot back into Manifesto and he snapped the basketball hoop.

"Impressive. You are gonna fix that, aren't you?" asked Nicky.

He laughed and repaired it. Then he suggested that they demonstrate their powers. Cian stepped forwards first. He conjured a fireball and aimed it at Nicky. He stopped it centimetres from her head but was bothered to realise that she wasn't bothered at all.

"Very good. Please, continue."

Then he picked up a textbook and waited for a few minutes. Then he threw it against the damaged basketball hoop where it exploded. Then he popped his bone claws out.

"I can also heal minor scratches and cuts as well as broken bones and bruises."

"I am very impressed." said Manifesto. "You can charge objects with kinetic energy, meaning that you enable them to explode. Sometimes you can use this ability to keep a certain item intact **(like Gambit's Bo staff) **while still knocking something to the floor."

Cian sat back down, grinning at Nicky who winked back. Joe got to his feet. He transformed his entire body into steel. He grew about a foot in height as well. Then he shot a bolt of energy out of his eyes, through the open door. He turned back into his human form and shot another bolt before taking his shirt off, allowing two small feathery wings to poke through. Then he flew around the hall for a few minutes before landing again.

"Woo!" shouted Nicky, laughing.

Joe sat back down and Maria got to her feet. She created some fireworks that burst out of her fingers. They exploded in the centre of the room. Then she conjured water and turned it into a full-blown tidal wave. Then she pushed out of the door and down the drain.

"Didncha know? You should never waste water."

Maria shot Nicky a death glare. Manifesto sensed that the two girls squabbled a lot and he was personally on the side of the non-wisecracking, non-troublemaking one.

"Alright. You talk a lot but can you live up to it?"

Nicky's eyes gleamed and Manifesto frowned as she stood up. Any other teenager with any sense would be cowed by making a bad impression on the teacher in the first lesson but not her.

"I'll give it a shot." she said.

She conjured a wind that nearly blew Manifesto over before shooting lightning bolts out of her eyes and creating a small rainstorm and blizzard. Then she sprang from one side of the room to the other, jumped up onto the basketball hoop before backflipping onto the floor. Then she created several ice sculptures, turned her body into ice, control one ice sculpture to levitate off the ground for a few seconds and produced an ice ball which shattered the window she directed it at.

"Well? Can I live up to it?" she asked easily.

Manifesto said nothing, his mind turning over the possibility that he had discovered an Omega-level mutant. Nicky rolled her eyes but said nothing as Tara stood up. She walked through the wall and several other solid objects. Then she teleported to the other side of the room and raised Mickey's school bag without touching it.

"Nice. My go." declared Mickey as he jumped up.

He started running and smashed straight through the wall. Nicky reacted instinctively, creating a wind that blew the rubble away from the group. Then Mickey demonstrated his superhuman speed and agility before producing razor sharp quills from his face.

"Does that hurt?"

"No, not really." he answered.


	3. X-Men and a New Threat

Logan turned his head at the scent of Ororo.

"Hey Ro."

"Logan, the professor wants to speak to us."

Logan got to his feet and followed her. When Logan and Ororo had gone to Alkali Lake and discovered Scott's barely moving body the professor had refused to leave his side, even when Jean disintegrated her childhood home. Logan had convinced Jean/Phoenix that Scott still loved her and the two halves had learned to live together in peace. Bobby and Peter had found Pyro hanging around the nearby town and persuaded him to come back. The cure wasn't permanent, Rogue had come back with the ability to control her power and Mystique and Magneto had reformed the Brotherhood with Sabretooth and Toad who'd reappeared. It turned out they'd been recruiting more mutants abroad into the Brotherhood.

"Comin' darlin'. It won't do Chuck any harm to wait."

Ororo shot him a Look and he grinned at her. She rolled her eyes, leading the way to Chuck's office. Logan shoved the door open and held it for Ororo who thanked him quietly. That got him a funny look from Scooter but Logan had saved Jean's life so he didn't feel he could say anything.

"Logan, you are late."

Logan said nothing, sitting on the seat next to Ororo who elbowed him. All the X-Men had assembled so there was quite a crowd. Hank wasn't there though; he'd accepted the position of Ambassador to the UN. Instead there was Warren, Scott, Chuck, Jean, Ororo, Logan, Bobby, Peter, Kitty and Rogue. The two former Brotherhood members were there, Pyro and Callisto who had been found with Pyro. There was also Jubilee, who had just graduated into the X-Men, and another new recruit, Remy LeBeau or Gambit, an ex-thief and friend of Ororo.

"Why did you ask us here, Professor?" asked Ororo.

She knew it would have to be serious for the professor to call them all together.

Xavier explained, "As you all know, mutants are not as common in Britain as they are here in America. Most regions have around ten mutants in each of them. They are spread quite widely across the regions however in one region six mutants are grouped into one small area. Two of them appear to be related."

"OK, so some mutants know each. So what?" asked Logan.

Charles gave him another Look and continued. "They are being trained by another mutant. He's an Omega, possibly more powerful than Magneto. That's not all. I believe he and Magneto are joining forces and that he will try to convert his six students."

Bobby said, "I understand that six more Brotherhood members would be a problem but they're only kids. What serious damage can they do?"

Charles looked at him and answered, "They all have an extraordinary control of their powers and they are also all Omegas. In the whole of the United States there are only five mutants who are Omega-level. Four of them are in this room. I am one along with Jean and Ororo. Bobby is also one."

"Whoo!" cheered Bobby.

Xavier smiled and continued, "If they turn on humanity we will not stand a chance."

"So, what information do you have on them?" asked Warren.

Xavier wheeled himself over to his laptop and punched a few keys. He also set up a projector and Scott dimmed the lights. Then Xavier typed a few keys, showing a map of a town in Britain.

"This is where they live. I expect you to track them down and convince them to stay on our side. If it's too late…"

Almost all the people sat in the room filled in _then we'll all be doomed._ Logan, John, Callisto, Remy and Peter filled in _kill them_. The phone rang and Xavier picked it up.

"Yes this is Charles Xavier. What?! Are you sure? I see. Right. I understand."

He hung up and turned to the X-Men. "That was the English police. Magneto has found Manifesto, the teacher, in England and has turned him. The Brotherhood have recruited other mutants and I believe they may have recruited the six. I want you to go to Manchester and see if this is true. Go now."

The X-Men got to their feet.

_Meanwhile, back in Manchester…_

Nicky glanced up as a shadow fell across her.

"Hey Mick."

Mickey sat next to her as Cian, Joe and Tara appeared. Maria was 'too busy to join in time-wasting activities'. They were sat in the park, people-watching, talking and showing off their mutant powers to each other.

"I'm tellin' you, the girl Joe was crazy for turned him down flat! Looked at him and went 'No thank you. I don't want to catch some kinda disease.' You shoulda seen his face!" laughed Cian.

Their laughter was cut short by another shadow. They looked up to see two men stood in front of them. Manifesto smiled down at them. His short brown hair had grown slightly and his brown eyes were full of intent. They didn't recognise the other older man.

"Who are you?" asked Nicky, almost unconsciously moving to put Tara behind her before she realised that a younger man had come up behind them.

"This is Magneto. Join our force and become leaders! Together we will squash the insects who try to defy us. If you do not join us then you are against us."

By this time the kids had risen to their feet. Nicky, being the fast talker, replied for the group.

"Y'know, through history there's been a lotta people who did convert or die speeches. I'm pretty sure I can't remember one who won. Get outta here Manifesto. We don't wanna hurt our mentor."

Manifesto exchanged a look with Magneto and the other man.

"Juggernaut, take the younger one."

Before anyone could move Juggernaut had grabbed Tara. Nicky let out a soft growl.

"If there's one thing you shoulda learnt when you trained me, it was that you can threaten me all you want but you do _not_ threaten my family if you want to stay unscathed."

Tara teleported out of Juggernaut's arms. Then Nicky smashed an ice ball into Manifesto's face. Cian conjured a fire ball and began to fight Juggernaut. Mickey charged Juggernaut, tossing him up into the air. Then they faced off against each other.

"I'm the Juggernaut bastard!" he yelled before charging the kid.

Mickey charged him as well.

Cian felt a surge of concern for his friend. "You sure about this?"

"Hell no." replied Mickey.

The two collided and both of them were thrown into the air. Cian charged a rock with energy and hurled it at Juggernaut before slashing him with one set of claws and blasting him with a fireball. Juggernaut responded with an iron fist smashed into the teen's stomach. Cian grunted and was kicked in the head. He sank to the floor.

"Shit."

Maria heard him and turned to check he was alright. Magneto took advantage of her distraction and lunged for her. Joe punched him in the face. After discovering his ability to control metal as well as Manifesto's he'd stuck to his human form. He still packed a punch, especially to an older man. The optic blasts tore a hole in Magneto's chest but he used a car to blast Joe to the floor. Joe was lying on the floor, listening to Maria's angry war cry mixed with swear words from Nicky, Cian and Mickey. He turned his head and unleashed his optic blast onto Magneto. Usually the most he could stand was two minutes before he got a headache. This time he lasted five before the intense pain blinded him. He yelped in pain as he lowered his head and the car rolled forwards.

"Joe! You're gonna be alright, OK? I promise. But Joe, you gotta get up." This was Tara, desperately pleading with him.

She wasn't sure if he was OK or if he was seriously hurt. Joe groaned slightly and Tara managed to lift the car long enough for him to crawl out.

"Thanks. Go help Nicky."

Tara was flitting round the fight, helping where she could. She'd lifted Juggernaut's helmet from his head and halted Manifesto for a split second, giving Nicky the chance to wriggle out of a dupe's grasp.

"Go!" urged Joe.

Nicky was fighting Manifesto and six dupes. She could sense which ones were fake though and she was aiming for the real one. An ice ball destroyed one dupe, a lightning bolt fried another. He kept throwing his dupes in front of him. The wind and gales lifted several dupes away and Nicky was using her super jumps to stay clear of the attacks. She sprang into a tree and swung round on the branch. She blasted an ice bolt at one of the dupes. Another one climbed up the tree and punched her in the back. Nicky grabbed hold of the branch and swung round, so her feet kicked into the side of the copy's face. It vanished and Nicky dropped onto another dupe, causing it to vanish.

"Had enough yet, old man?" she snapped.

Nicky didn't get angry often but when she did it was fierce. She smashed her elbow back into a copy's throat before there was a sneering laugh. The teens whipped round to see Juggernaut holding Maria, ready to break her neck.

"Oh dear. Look who lost." he sneered.

Then Nicky felt herself grow cold, colder than normal. She jumped towards him and to her shock, made the jump. It was over two metres but she made it. She froze Juggernaut's head as she jumped clear of him. She rolled herself to a halt three metres down the hill. Nicky swore when she realised she couldn't see what was happening.

"What the hell just happened?" she asked quietly.

Cian saw Nicky make the jump and felt a huge fireball burst out of his hand and blast Juggernaut in the chest. Joe's energy blast was centred and smashed Manifesto in the eye. Mickey's quills popped out and hurled themselves at Magneto. Tara moved herself into the air along Juggernaut before crashing him onto the floor. Magneto, Manifesto and Juggernaut fled and Nicky limped over the hill.

"What did I miss?" she asked, half-smiling.

Cian smiled over at her. He'd hug her but they all needed some kind of medical attention. He led his battered team over to the toilets and the animal centre. There were a few walls and benches to sit on as well as tree branches.

"Begorrah." muttered Cian, echoing his Irish father as he checked his wounds. "What the hell did we get ourselves into? I didn't know you could turn into ice, Nicky."

Nicky looked up startled. "Can I? When did I do that?"

"When Juggernaut…" Joe trailed off, clearly uncomfortable with bringing up lethal force.

Maria massaged her neck slightly. Nicky said nothing, just inspecting yet another cut.

"I didn't think Manifesto would use lethal force on us. I mean, he trained us, made our powers stronger." said Mickey.

"He wanted to train us thinking that out of loyalty he'd follow us. He wanted us to be his ready-made soldiers." snarled Nicky in response.

Tara was taken aback by the venom in her cousin's voice. Unlike the other older four she'd never been on the wrong side of Nicky's temper. She studied the others. Out of them all Tara was the least injured, having used her phasing ability to avoid the projectiles and punches being flung her way. Her only injuries were where Cian's intense fireball at the end of the battle had gone past her and burned her leg. The other few were cuts and scrapes from when she'd fallen to the floor and hadn't phased in time to sink harmlessly through. Maria had survived with cuts and scrapes but blood was on her T-shirt and Tara wasn't sure whose it was. Joe kept holding his head or his eyes.

"What's up with your eyes, Joey?" asked Nicky.

"Nothing." She gave him a disbelieving look. "OK, OK. I used my optic blast for too long. Normally I get headaches after two minutes and I stop but this was life or death and I kept going for five minutes until the pain blinded me."

Nicky shook her head, smiling. Joe gave her an apologetic look. The two of them understood each other without having to ask. Tara noticed that Joe also had several slashes across his face and his jeans were ripped with blood seeping through. His shirt also had a few cuts in it, where the fabric was hanging loose. Cian was holding his arm gingerly as if it was broken. Blood covered his face, shirt and jeans. One of his shoes was missing and his foot had blood on it. Due to his healing factor though, he had no surface injuries like the others. Mickey had a black eye and the top of his head was cut open and bleeding quite badly. His kneecap was slashed open and his shirt was bloody and sticking to his shoulders which were bleeding profusely. Tara turned her attention to her sister figure and cousin, Nicky who had somehow damaged her leg. Blood was oozing out of a cut on her forehead and decorated her slacks. There were several cuts in them with blood seeping out. The lower half of her top was ripped and torn with a long cut running across her abdomen.

"What happened to your arm?" asked Maria.

Cian shifted his arm and replied, "Juggernaut landed on it when he and Mickey butted heads. I tripped and fell and he landed on it. I could hear the snap."

Nicky whistled softly at hearing that and spoke to Mickey. "What did you do to your shoulders?"

Mickey shrugged and winced. "Cian charged Juggernaut's helmet and it exploded. I got caught right where it exploded and the fragments pierced the wounds. Charging into however many tonnes of sheer muscle didn't help either."

She laughed then winced slightly.

"What's wrong?" asked Joe.

"Nothing."

"Nicky."

Nicky rolled her eyes and said, "I didn't land so good when I jumped Juggy. My foot slipped, obviously it was 'cos it had turned into ice, and I skidded down the hill, crashing into a tree stump on the way."

Joe nodded, relieved that she'd told him. He'd known Nicky to play a ninety-minute basketball game with a broken leg. The thing was, she'd won the game almost single-handedly.

"We are so unprepared." said Nicky sadly.

Cian's head shot up. He'd known her for four years and over that time he'd heard her angry, happy, loud, frustrated but never sad. He didn't think she knew _how_ to be sad, at least she never showed it.

"What d'you mean?"

"Look at it this way. Manifesto's got an army." In response to Maria's disbelieving look she retorted, "What, you think Magneto and Juggernaut came over on their own?! Do you not watch the news? Magneto was responsible for nearly wiping out the world leaders at Liberty Island a few years ago, then he attacked a corporation that was responsible for making a cure for suppressing mutation at Alcatraz Island. The guy's a terrorist and he's got an army. He's more than likely got a base as well and somebody who's at least a doctor or can heal others. Plus he's probably got weapons for the mutants who aren't so good with hand-to-hand combat or their mutations don't work for battle situations. We have Cian who can heal himself and Maria who can heal if she holds onto someone who can. Us four are screwed in that respect."

Cian suggested, "We have inbuilt weapons."

Joe countered, "But we haven't fully utilised them. Nicky didn't know she'd turned into ice until you told her. I don't know how long I can use my blasts without pain. Tara can't lift Juggernaut for long enough for us to escape. Maria doesn't know the full extent of her power. Mickey nearly gives himself brain damage every time he charges. You take a while to charge things. We need more training but we can't train ourselves. We don't have the expertise."

"We sure as hell don't have an army. There's six of us and we nearly got all our butts kicked in a fight with three of them. Where _can_ we use as a base though? Not the school, our houses wouldn't work, the back yards are too small to practice our powers."

Nicky frowned. "There isn't anywhere, is there? It can't really be outside 'cos it's too hard to defend. Our houses are too small so… we are so screwed."

Her leg was beginning to ache and she was grateful when Cian suggested getting cleaned up. They split up heading to the respective toilets. Nicky winced as she poured disinfectant onto the wounds. When they were clean she looked around for something to use as a bandage. Finding nothing she limped back outside. Cian was already there, topless.

"Where'd your top go?" she asked.

Cian glanced up and pointed to a strip of cloth. "I got rid of the bloody bit and sliced the clean part of my jeans off. I don't need the bandages."

Nicky sat down and used some of the cloth, as well as some of her own, to bind her wounds.

"You alright?" asked Cian.

Nicky shrugged. "Not really. We'll be OK though."

"How do you know?" he asked.

She glanced up from her work. "How do you know we won't?"

The others appeared and used various strips of clothes to clean their wounds.

"OK, so we wade into the biggest war ever. What chance do we have?" asked Tara.

Nicky said soberly, "I think we might be the only ones who can. We're really powerful. Most of mutants have one power, we have three each."


	4. Are We Living With Vampires?

"We need blood." stated Jean.

The mutants glanced over at her and Warren in surprise. It wasn't the kind of thing you expected when you were playing Scrabble because Peter and Cian were still finishing the beds.

Mickey said, "When did we start living with vampires?"

Tara grinned and Maria rolled her eyes. Nicky had gone outside and climbed a tree. According to Joe she wouldn't come down until she wanted to.

"It's to help continue research into the mutant gene and to see if Cian and Logan's blood will help heal you."

Cian dropped the crate he was carrying and a string of swear words followed.

"Wash your mouth out. Tara's only eleven." said another voice.

Nicky was perched on top of a pile of junk. She was watching the scene with amusement.

"When did you come in?" asked Bobby.

"'Bout ten minutes ago. I have to say, I've never seen such an intense Scrabble game. Logan, I think you're screwed with the letters you've got."

Logan glared up at her. Rogue and Ororo had nagged him to join in until he'd said yes.

"Shut up."

"So loquacious." commented Nicky.

Cian pushed the crate out of the way.

"What do you mean, using my blood to heal people?"

Jean explained, "You and Logan have a mutation that gives your blood healing properties. If it is injected into another person that person will heal for a limited period of time. We need to check that everybody is compatible."

Jean and Warren drew the blood from everybody. Nicky backflipped off the scrap and helped Cian and Peter by using the wind to move crates. Then Jean and Warren retreated to the makeshift hospital/science wing bit and started doing tests. The crates had their lids ripped off and they were flipped on their sides to form beds.

"So… what do we do for bedding?" asked John.

Tara suggested, "I could teleport to my house and get some."

Nicky said, "I brought some. I had them in my hands when I found Mum…"

Her voice tailed off and Logan glanced up at her. The sheets were dragged into the crates and used to line the bottom. Everybody got their own crate.

"Cian, can we personalise it?" asked Tara.

Cian shrugged. "Sure. Just don't wreck it or anything."

Tara beamed and got to work. Scott watched the British kids bickering amicably. Callisto walked over.

"Have you noticed how they already have a hierarchy?"

Scott glanced up. "No but go on. Tell me."

She gave him a level look and asked, "Are you mocking me?"

He shook his head sighing. "No. I just… I can't read them and it's bothering me."

"Maybe you shouldn't read them. Logan's already had a go at Storm, told her not to read Icestorm."

"Really?"

"Yep."

Scott smiled at the thought. "Go on then. Tell me about the hierarchy?"

Callisto sat down on the crate, _seriously how many were there?! _and studied the six teens.

"Well, the leader's quite obviously Cian. He's got the knack of being a leader. Clever, honest most of the time, skilled at giving orders and his mutations are mostly offensive. That means that he can take care of himself and others in battle which will make his team trust him more. They know he'll be alongside them in any fight. Plus, there's the fact that he can heal and possibly heal others. He can care for them when they're injured; he won't just ditch them to be on their own… like Magneto."

Scott squeezed her hand in response to the last comment. "You can get your revenge on him now."

Callisto nodded, clearly remembering that he'd left Arclight to die. The X-Men had taken her to the X-Mansion but hadn't been able to save her.

"What about Icestorm?"

Callisto smiled. "Where do I start? She's the deputy, whether the others realise it or not. She's balanced enough to see both ways to go. Plus, her mutation complements Cian's. Between them they make a pretty good team. He's hot-headed and rushes into fights. Nicky can beat him in a straight-out fight using only their mutations. She's loyal, meaning her advice won't be based on what will gain her the most respect within the team; it'll be on what's best for everyone. They know, subconsciously, that she can take care of herself and anyone else she needs to in a fight and in the aftermath she'll be able to heal herself with no help due to the whole ice-healing thing. And… she's coping with grief they can't imagine but she's hiding it so they aren't worried. That's what makes her such a good lieutenant. Cian doesn't have to worry as much about her, he can focus on the whole group and Nicky will work through her problems on her own while caring for Cian."

Scott laughed. "Are you sure you're not telepathic?"

Callisto rolled her eyes. "My mutation allows me to sense things like that."

"Yeah I know."

They watched Tara and John bickering over a sheet, Kitty and Peter smiling shyly at each other and Rogue and Bobby kissing. Mickey and Joe were snickering at them.

"Tell me about Joe and Mickey." said Scott.

He loved to listen to Callisto profiling people. Late at night when neither of them could sleep he got her to profile all the X-Men.

"Joe's the warrior quite clearly. All his mutations are for fighting but the wings mean he can help out other people in a scrap. Plus he's got the balls to make sure Nicky isn't overdoing herself, which I don't think even Cian has the balls. He likes getting into fights and winning. So he'll probably be the main one Cian takes with him on confrontational missions. He can protect himself against most attacks as well. When their team gets bigger I think Joe will be one of the more respected members."

Callisto watched the Brits arguing. Nicky was perched back on the pile of junk, Cian and Mickey were arguing about football **(soccer to you Americans****) **and Joe and Maria were bickering over something else. Tara had curled into her bed.

"Mickey?"

"Glad you asked. Mickey's going to be the one that makes the leadership stronger by challenging them. Every time Cian meets his challenge he'll gain a little more respect from his teammates and in return Mickey will earn their respect as someone who's not afraid to speak out if he's concerned. He'll be one of the main recruiters as well. I suspect Cian will send him out on solo missions as well. His primary mutation is confrontational so he can take care of himself in fights as well as the fact that he can sense other mutants and lies making him an ideal spy."

Maria had flounced off and curled up in a corner. Nicky called down to her. Maria sent a jet of water to her which Nicky instantly froze.

"Better luck next time!"

"Looks like Maria and Nicky don't get on well." commented Scott.

Callisto smirked. "Maria likes Cian. She's jealous of the fact that Nicky and Cian get on so well. Plus, she believes that she would be a better leader and so when the others follow Nicky or Cian's orders she gets angry. She thinks she's better than all of them and therefore should lead. But it's for those reasons that she shouldn't be a leader. Sooner or later she's going to realise that her pointless jealousy is preventing her from bonding with the rest of the team and she's going to regret it. Then she'll try and be a suck-up to Cian and Nicky but she'll only to do that to try and unbalance the dynamic and send Nicky off course."

"Quite a bitch."

"Yep."

Seconds later Tara teleported into the kitchen to grab a drink before walking through the wall.

"Y'know you're just showin' off don't you?" asked Nicky.

"Yeah. But you show off all the time."

Nicky grinned.

"Shadow?"

"Well… she's the youngest in the group by far so she feels she has to prove herself. Which means that she disobeys orders to prove she can do it. Which in turn really pisses Cian off and really really pisses Nicky off. But she is a good fighter and a good escapist so she'll probably be used to get the group out of scrapes. But… I think that she'll also be used on recruitment missions. And also, the fact that she has a blood tie to Nicky means that status-wise she's quite high-up in the group."

Scott smiled at her. "Did I tell you that you're a genius?"

Callisto laughed. She liked Scott; she liked more than she ought to. She still had blood on her hands after all. Plus, Jean and Scott had set the date for their wedding. That was something Callisto refused to think about.

"Alright! That's enough! The X-Men are going to train the mutants who share their powers."

"In the X-Unit." called Cian. "We chose a name."

"I still think Chrome's Dudes is a better name." commented Joe.

Nicky rolled her eyes. "Yes but you're a dickhead."

"Fair point."

"Anyway!" shouted Scott. "Logan would like to speak to you."

Logan stepped forwards. "Thanks Scoot. It's not enough to rely on ya powers, no matter how strong they are. Ya need weapons, extra ones, in case ya can't use ya powers or a someone puts a mutation suppressor on ya. So we found weapons."

"I'm guessin' you loved that, right?" drawled Cian.

Nicky aimed a swift kick at him. "Play nicely. This guy's made out of metal. He can cut your claws."

"Ouch." he muttered.

Logan glared at them before pointing to the makeshift training corner. It was only called that because that was where most of the junk was dumped and nobody could be bothered moving it so they called it an obstacle course. The six teens swarmed over. Nicky jumped over their heads and picked up the bow. She slotted an arrow into it and shot it over Mickey's head to hit the X mark on the wall.

"Have you used a bow and arrow before?" asked Ororo.

Nicky shrugged. "Nope."

"Then you are a natural."

Nicky grinned and hopped out of the way to let the others choose their weapons. Maria shot her a black look. Nicky gave her the sunniest up-yours smile possible before muttering something that caused Bobby and John to snigger.

"Be quiet." snapped Scott.

Cian ignored Nicky's muttered insult to Maria. Instead he picked up the war hammer. It was perfect. He turned to the metal wall Peter and Logan had dragged in to protect the medical corner. He took a deep breath and felt the energy running through his body as he charged the hammer. Then he smashed the hammer down onto the metal. A loud _BANG_followed and Cian was blasted backwards. He landed flat on his back, still clutching the heavy war hammer in his hand.

"Jesus Christ!" shouted somebody as Cian sat up.

"Ouch."

"Dick." said Mickey. "Have you seen the wall?"

Cian turned to look. The steel wall had a huge dent in it.

"I think ya found ya weapon." commented Logan.

"Yep."

Maria flashed a congratulatory grin at Cian but it was ignored as he walked over to Nicky. She bit back a sigh as she turned to look at the array of weapons. Unlike all the others who had fallen over each other to get to know the X-Men she didn't like them. They all loved Nicky too for some reason. In Maria's opinion she was rude, arrogant and downright unpleasant. She picked up the bracelets and clicked the switch before putting it to Logan's arm. He yelped and fell to the floor.

"FUCKIN' ELECTRIC BRACELETS! YA PUT IT ON FULL FUCKIN' VOLTAGE! SOMEONE GET HER THE FUCK OUTTA MY VIEW!"

"You heard the man. Move aside." smirked Bobby.

Maria hurriedly stepped away. She liked these bracelets. They looked good and fought well.

"Nicely done." commented Joe.

He and Mickey shared a smirk as they turned to look at the rest. Joe picked up the metal gloves and clicked a little switch inside. His hands were balled into fists inside them. Three small spikes popped out, covered in a dark substance.

"Logan, what's the stuff on the spikes?"

"Poison. It's a double thing. Click the little switches and they'll go inside."

Joe clicked the switch, turned to metal and punched the wall. Another dent appeared.

"I like 'em." he said.

Mickey grinned over at his friend before picking up the shield. He tossed it from one arm to the other before turning to face Cian.

"Charge me."

Cian popped his claws and ran forwards. He sprang into the air and brought his claws down on the shield. They broke. Cian let out an agonised howl as he punched the shield in fury. Mickey brought the shield down and charged Cian, knocking into him with the shield. The taller mutant went hurtling backwards, smashing into the metal wall and denting it even further.

"I think we need a new wall." remarked Nicky.

"Ow. Fuckin' bastard." muttered Cian as he pulled himself to his feet.

Tara picked up the Taser. "Is this an ordinary Taser?"

"Hell no. Have a little faith kid. It's super-powerful. Ya stick that up ta 7.5 volts that thing's like Ro in a storm. 6 blasts it up to Icegirl's standard."

"Icestorm!" shouted Nicky as she shot an arrow into his knee.

Logan glared at her. They were about to argue when Jean and Warren reappeared holding the blood sample.

"We have good news, and…interesting news." said Warren.

"Now I'm intrigued." smiled Mickey.

"The good news," continued Warren, "is that all of you are compatible with Logan and Cian's blood."

"The interesting news is that two of you are related." said Jean sombrely.

"Well no shit Sherlock. Me and Tara are cousins."

Jean looked at Nicky for a moment before continuing. "No. One of the X-Unit and one of the X-Men are related."

**Go on! Guess who it is! If you guess right I'll mention you in all my introductions!**


	5. We're Related!

They all turned to stare at Jean.

"I'm sorry, say what?" said Joe.

Jean glanced over at Warren helplessly. She really didn't want to be the one to tell them but Warren was unhelpfully staring at a wall.

"One of the X-Men is related to one of the X-Unit."

"Who?" asked Ororo.

"Logan."

Logan closed his eyes briefly. He had a sneaking suspicion that it was Cian since they shared a power.

"Right. And I'm related ta who?"

"Nicky."

The whole room froze and turned to look at the two mutants.

"Are we like cousins or something?" she asked.

"No. The link would appear to be parental. We tested it several times and it was the only possible outcome."

Nicky looked surprised but Logan looked stunned.

"Huh."

"Why don't you two go talk about it outside?" suggested Warren.

They slipped outside and sank onto the grass.

"Tell me about ya mom and me."

Nicky didn't speak for a moment. When she did her voice was quiet and lacking its usual laughter.

"My mum and you met in town. You got talking and went for a drink. Three months later you'd moved in. You didn't really have anywhere else to live. It wasn't a great love affair or anything. You and Mum just got on really well and it kinda started to grow into love I guess. She knew you were a mutant. You gave her a piece of bone claw when it broke off one time and she gave it to me. When she told you she was pregnant you were really happy."

"I always did want a family. Why did I leave?"

"Some men came looking for you. One of them was called Stryker, the other one was Zero. You argued with them for ages until in the end Mum called the police. Then you said that you had a score to settle and Mum told you to go. She said you needed to release the hurt and anger you were carrying around with you. So you went but you promised to come back. Mum dated other guys but she really wanted you to come back so I could meet you."

"Kid, if I'd known I had ya and ya mom waitin' for me nothin' woulda stopped me comin' back. Was her name Jane?"

"Yeah."

"I used to remember a woman named Jane and laughter. That's all I remember. Laughter, love and ya mom."

"She was always laughing."

Logan wrapped his arm around his newfound daughter and she leaned into him.

"When all this shit is over, maybe I'll stick around Britain."

"But the X-Men…"

"Screw the X-Men. Half o' 'em hate ma guts anyway. 'Sides we need someone over here ta open up a new school. Chuck was talkin' bout it."

Nicky hugged him and got to her feet. "C'mon old man."

"Old man? Ya in trouble now." laughed Logan.

He chased her inside, smiling.

"Joe, hide me!" she squeaked as she dived behind the taller boy.

"Logan! Leave her alone." said Ororo, smiling.

"But she called me old!"

"Yu are old." smirked Remy.

Logan stuck his middle claw up at him. Then Cian's mobile **(cell phone ****)** rang. He picked it up.

"Hey Charlie. No we're not in school. Why would we be? A) it's Saturday and B) we only go in three days a week now. Yeah, the X-Men are teaching us school shit. Yeah I know. What?! Shit! Yeah, we'll be there as soon as."

He hung up and turned to look at the expectant mutants.

"Well? Don't leave us in suspense." said John sarcastically.

"There's a massive fight breaking out at the shopping centre. Charlie says there are mutants everywhere. And that loads of people are really hurt. He's cowering in the women's changing room with another teenager."

"Only time he'll ever get a girl." joked Mickey.

Cian shot him a sharp look.

"Suit up." ordered Scott.

"X-Unit! Grab your weapons!" shouted Cian.

They snatched up their weapons and jumped into the cars.

"We don't really have enough room."

Logan glanced over at Nicky who'd turned into ice and stuck herself to the roof. There really wasn't enough room for them all. A small plan began to form in Logan's mind. But he didn't get chance to give it any more thought because Remy screeched to a halt outside the mall.

"_Merde_!"

There was smoke drifting around the shops in lazy circles and fire licking at various scattered items. People were lying on the floor, bleeding and whimpering. Families huddled together, trying to protect each other. The metal bins were buckled and ripped out of the ground.

"Magneto." said Scott.

"Manifesto."

They heaved themselves out of the car, wincing as they stretched their limbs. A huge explosion rocked the shopping centre.

Cyclops snapped, "Alright! We need a plan before anyone goes in!"

Explosion retorted, "OK, let's have a nice little plan while the whole world goes to hell!"

"Quiet! Two X-Men will go with one of the X-Unit! Pyro, Storm, go with Hydra!"

"Hydra! Follow the fires, start putting them out!" ordered Explosion.

The three mutants raced away.

"Icestorm! Head for the thick of the fighting! Take down as many mutants as you can! Got it?!"

"Yes boss!"

"Wolverine, Colossus, go with her!"

The two men tore after the smaller girl. Colossus had already turned into metal, Icestorm into ice and Wolverine had his claws out.

"Shadowcat! Go with Sensor and Archangel! Get the civilians out!"

Sensor looked to Explosion.

"Go! Get them out and into the tram stop and car park!"

Sensor pounded away with Archangel flying above them.

"Shadow! I want you to go with Gambit and Iceman! Now! Follow Sensor, Archangel and Shadowcat to the tram stops and car parks. Guard them, don't let a single mutant through!"

"On it!"

They rushed off, following the other three.

"Chrome, go with Jubilee and Jean! Work on the south side, clearing the rubble and finding more people. When you get the chance, attack any stragglers you see from the Brotherhood." ordered Explosion.

Chrome nodded, grabbed Jubilee's hand and rushed off, already in metal form. Explosion tightened his grip on the hammer and turned to the last two X-Men, Cyclops and Rogue.

"I think we should follow Icestorm, Colossus and Wolverine to the main fighting."

"What about civilians?" argued Cyclops.

"We've got nine people dealing with civilians! We fight!"

"Ah agree wit Explosion." chimed in Rogue.

Explosion smirked at Cyclops and heard a scream from the building. His smirk vanished as he raced after the trail Icestorm had left. He saw one of Manifesto's men, wearing a uniform. It was black with a silver star on the elbows and chest. He also had an arrow sticking out of his chest. Three claw marks were on the next man's face and the third man had a huge bruise on his face and he'd been thrown into a wall.

"Well, at least we know they were here."

Explosion ran on, keeping low and clenching his hammer. A bright red light surrounded it. Rogue guessed that it was from the energy. Then a woman walked round the bend, with a gun. She was wearing the same uniform as the three men they'd passed. She lifted the gun and fired a shot. Explosion hurled the hammer at her. It hit and the following explosion knocked them backwards. The dust hadn't fully settled and already the younger boy was charging forwards, snatching up the hammer, and ignoring the blood. There were angry yells coming from the food court now.

"BASTARD!"

"SHIT!"

"TRAITORS!"

"ICESTORM! NO!"

At that Cyclops saw Explosion's face pale and he ran forwards. People were cowering everywhere. Blood decorated most of their faces. Shadow teleported in, grabbed a family and vanished again. Colossus was swinging a small green hunchbacked man that Cyclops recognised as Toad round by his tongue. Wolverine was fighting six people at the same time. Arrows were in several uniformed men and women's chests. A few were made out of ice. Speaking of ice… Cyclops' gaze drifted over to where an icy form was lying underneath a table.

"Icestorm!" yelled Explosion as he skidded to her side.

Colossus saw Explosion race over to the icy girl but he focused on throwing Toad into a pillar. Then he charged over, sliding to a halt by them and covering them while Manifesto's minions blasted them with gunfire.

"Icestorm, she is alright?"

Explosion glanced up distractedly.

"I don't know."

"Course I'll be fine. Give me a minute." she muttered through clenched teeth and closed eyes.

Wolverine barely heard her response but he did. He was still fighting six jerk holes. He stabbed his claws into two of them and instead of doing the normal thing and pulling them out he used them to support himself as he kicked two more in the chest. Then he pulled the claws out. Then he saw something that made even his indestructible heart freeze. Icestorm, his daughter, the one he never thought he had, staggered backwards and fell to the floor. Then Wolverine saw red. Nobody, but nobody was going to get away with hurting the one kid that could do anything and he'd still forgive her. He charged the man, ignoring the small spurts of pain as bullets tore into his body and stabbed him.

"Back off bub."

Icestorm scrambled to her feet. "Thanks Dad. Duck!"

Without asking why Wolverine threw himself to the floor as Icestorm let loose an arrow into a man's body.

"Multiple Man. Pyslocke's not far away then."

"Good thing Callisto isn't here. She freezes up around former teammates." said Cyclops.

Icestorm dodged a flying mutant and raced over to Colossus who was smashing another minion into the ground.

"What's goin' on?!"

Colossus turned to her. "For every one I knock out, another three appear. We blocked off the exits when we got here and the only two unblocked ones are those."

He pointed to where several minions were lying on the floor and to where Wolverine and Explosion were guarding another doorway, back-to-back. Wolverine was taking care of any minions that tried to attack from the food court and Explosion was dealing with newcomers. He was grabbing debris, charging it and hurling it at them before setting fire to several others. Plus he wasn't even charging his hammer, just swinging it at any who got too close.

"So we know one exit's covered at least."

"Also," Colossus informed her, "Hydra, Pyro and Storm are working down that one because the fires are biggest there. So no-one is coming through apart from other X-Men and X-Unit. So there must be another place."

Rogue fought her way across the room. "Cyclops is protectin' some civilians down there. Shadowcat just got them out. Ah've looked around an' there ain't no injured ones. There's a lotta 'em who can't walk or move an' there's unconscious ones. Bu', sugah, there ain't none wit minor injuries. An' ah swear ah saw one wit a bandage."

"Dammit! There must be another way in and outta here! But I can't… the lift!"

"The lift's broken sugah. Explosion chucked his hammer at one o' them an' it missed. It hit the doors and _boom_."

Icestorm frowned as the wheels in her brain started turning. "But what if that explosion we heard when we got here was the lift? Then all they'd need to do would be prise the doors open which they don't need to do anymore 'cos Explosion's blasted it open."

"One is running toward lift."

"Alright, Rogue, you stay behind Colossus, give him a hand. Colossus… smash."

"_Da_. Is fun."

They laughed and Icestorm darted after the bleeding woman. She turned herself into ice and crouched low as a projectile was flung at the fight. The can skittered to the ground a few feet from where she was crouched behind an overturned table.

"Damn you, let me through! I have to get to hospice."

The woman's voice was British and she sounded angry. Icestorm narrowed her eyes. Wouldn't the woman say 'the hospice'? Unless… Hospice was the name of someone or something that was fixing the minions and Brotherhood up. That was why Rogue had seen one with a bandage!

"Alright, alright. Wait, you got a light?" growled a man.

"Course I have a light. I'm a pyrokinetic. I'd be useless without one."

A pyrokinetic. That would explain the bins set on fire. A flaming bottle was sent hurling towards Cyclops. Icestorm blasted it with a cold blast before scurrying after the woman. She stopped as she got to the corner, an ice ball formed and ready for throwing. She'd slung the bow over her back. A man's face peeked round, older with a thick blond beard and green eyes. Icestorm hurled the ice ball into his face, knocking him out.

"What the-?!"

His companion didn't get chance to finish the sentence as Icestorm chopped down on the exposed neck. He too crumpled comatose to the ground. The lift had its doors blasted down. The narrow passage to get to the lift had burn marks and signs of Explosion's hammer being used. The two men were obviously supposed to cause damage from the outside of the skirmish while guarding the exit. Interesting… Icestorm followed the blood trail to the lift and peered down. The woman was clinging onto one of the ropes and abseiling down. Icestorm jumped straight the shaft and as she reached the bottom used the wind to steady herself.

"Ow." she muttered.

Manifesto glanced over to where Magneto and Juggernaut were muttering. Psylocke had led a group to track down survivors. Hospice and Macro walked over.

"Everything OK boss?" rumbled Macro.

He was a giant of a man, built like Juggernaut with a long brown ponytail that reached down to the middle of his back. He also had above-average intelligence, something most people didn't believe.

"Yes. They won't get far."

"But they have the X-Men with them." Hospice pointed out.

She was healing people, using her ability. Small and compact with long wavy black hair and blue eyes she was a bundle of energy and Macro's lover.

"Please. The X-Men are busy. Don't forget, I trained these kids. I know everything there is to know about them."

"I think you're wrong." said Magneto, pointing to the exit.

Manifesto turned and felt his heart falter for a minute. Nicky had just landed and shot an arrow into one of the Brotherhood. The Mutant Right Group was Manifesto's group.

"What the… How did she get this far?! We had people defending the exit!"

"Yes well… she got through!" snapped Manifesto.

Nicky backflipped onto the fountain and shot a bolt of lightning at an MRG.

"Nicky! I'm glad you could join us!"

Nicky spat at the ground. "Don't patronise me! Oh, and it's Icestorm."

"Icestorm?" laughed Magneto.

"Yeah. And guess what suckers? You just unleashed the storm."

She electrocuted Hospice, sent an ice ball into Macro's face and kicked Magneto in the face.

"Please, this isn't working is it?" asked Manifesto in a condescending tone. "You're not angry at us, you're angry at the fact that you've been sucked in to the X-Men's trap."

"NO!" yelled Icestorm. "I'm so fucking pissed off that I could kill you all! That's how fucking angry I am! You murdered my mother!"

"Technically that was me." rumbled a deep voice.

She turned, eyes crackling with electricity. A huge bulk of a man was stood there, smirking. He had a buzz cut and cold eyes. Nicky knew him from around her neighbourhood. He was one of the men who 'protected' people.

"Before I fry your ass, I wanna know why?"

Sean shrugged. "'Cos I could. 'Cos it was fun. 'Cos she was human."

"Well then, you're a fuckin' psycho aren't ya?"

Icestorm lashed a foot into his face and fried him with a lightning bolt. Sean flung a hand out at her. She ducked, slid along the ground and kicked him in the groin. Sean groaned and stumbled to the side. Icestorm pulled out her last arrow and shot it straight into his heart. Then there was a loud roar. Explosion, Cyclops, Wolverine and Storm had appeared. Seconds later the MRG and Brotherhood were scattered or wiped out. Cyclops looked down at Sean.

"You killed him?"

Icestorm shrugged. "He murdered my mother. Of course I killed him."

Wolverine gave her a brief hug before looking at the dead bodies.

"Nice work kid."

**A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! Hervissa you are officially my favourite reviewer! Feel free to review anytime you like! Beautiful Storm Munroe I did think about making Icestorm and Storm related, probably through her dad, but in the end I went with Wolverine and Icestorm.**


	6. Recruiting

The X-Unit and X-Men were back at the warehouse getting various injuries seen to. Cian, Logan, Peter and Joe were lounging around since they had no injuries. They were also winding everybody else up. Nicky, who'd healed herself using her ice power, had gone out for pizza. Jean was stitching a cut in Tara's arm when Mickey fell to the floor, screaming.

"ARGH! GET OUT OF MY HEAD! GET OUT!" he yelled, rolling on the floor.

"What's wrong with him?" asked Cian.

Callisto answered, "He's sensed a powerful mutant. Maybe two and his mind is struggling to cope with it. Because his mutation developed around other powerful mutants he can cope with familiar mutants."

Eventually Mickey calmed down and sat up. He looked shaken and pale.

"Sorry guys. Didn't really expect that."

Callisto gave him a sympathetic look. "I know. What did you sense?"

Mickey shrugged. "A boy and a girl. They're scared."

Callisto nodded. Cian sat up.

"Hey, Mick. Get a lock on them. We might be able to recruit them."

Nicky reappeared and rolled her eyes. She distributed the pizzas and sat down next to Cian.

"Recruit who?"

Cian shrugged and deftly swallowed a whole piece of pizza.

"You're a pig, you know that don't you?" said Nicky affectionately.

Cian grinned. "Yep. You tell me every time."

Logan smirked as he also wolfed down a whole slice. Nicky groaned before turning back to her original question.

"Recruit who?"

Mickey explained rapidly. "It hurt like hell."

"Sounds like it."

Eventually Mickey and Callisto between them managed to get a lock on the girl's position. They scrawled out an area that none of them had ever been to.

"Isn't that in the south?" asked Maria.

The south was a different world to the X-Unit. Cian glanced up at a map he'd 'found'. The X-Unit weren't sure where it was from but it was definitely not legitimate. Tara stuck a pin in the place where the girl had been sensed. Another map, this time of the North-West of England had pins protruding from it, showing the MRG and Brotherhood's recent activities and possible bases. Warren, Jean and Kitty were working industriously on a computer for the X-Unit. Cian and Logan began sorting out who was going to recruit the girl. Eventually Ororo ordered everybody to go to sleep.

_A week later, in the South of England…_

Jenny scrambled over a wall and crouched down. She was in a rundown neighbourhood of London. Hot tears threatened to spill down her face and overwhelm her. Instead she choked them back and got to her feet. There was no sign of the police which could only be a good thing. Then she noticed the two men walking closer. They didn't look like police but she wasn't sure. One was a huge man, built like a tank, and the other was an old man.

"Who- who are you and what do you want?" she asked, trying to hide the tremor in her voice.

"We want you. You're like us." said the tank guy.

The older one took over. "You wanted to hurt the Homo sapiens. They are nothing compared to us. We will put them in their rightful place and we need you to do it."

Jenny began to panic. This really wasn't her day.

"No. I-I didn't mean to hurt them, it was an accident…"

"No it wasn't. Join and be part of the glorious new future!" declared the older man.

A circular object came flying through the air. It hit the older man and a boy, barely older than Jenny, appeared. The circle shot back towards the boy and he slotted it onto his arm.

"It's Sensor, isn't it?" cried the older one. "Aren't you a little far from your comfort zone in South London?"

Sensor growled out, "Back off Magneto. It ain't your territory. I belong round here more than you. So I suggest you piss off."

Magneto raised a gray eyebrow. "Are you going to stop me?"

"You bet your ass I am. Can you run?"

This last question was directed at Jenny who nodded. Sensor threw her the shield which she saw was black with a dark blue X on it. Before she could puzzle over it Sensor grabbed her hand and dragged her away.

"Cover yourself with the shield!" he shouted as they charged threw the streets.

Jenny did as she was told and tried keep calm. Sensor could smash through walls as if it was nothing. It was a little disturbing but she said nothing, concentrating on running. They skidded to a halt outside a derelict house. Sensor touched his temple with his hand and closed his eyes. He snapped them back open seconds later and smiled at her.

"Sorry about the run. I had to get us outta there 'fore things turned nasty. C'mon."

Jenny followed him into the house. It was falling apart but one room, the one with boarded up windows, had a girl sat in it, muttering under her breath.

Sensor breezily said, "First sign of madness, talking to yourself."

"Shut up."

"I love you too."

The girl glared at him and Jenny took stock of where she was and what was happening to her. She'd been rescued from who-knew-what by God-knows-who and taken to who-knows-where. Sensor was attractive she guessed, when he wasn't covered in mud and wearing a Kevlar uniform that had a large X marked on it. The uniform, which was sleeveless, was also black and the X dark blue. The girl was strikingly attractive with dark brown hair that she'd slicked back into a ponytail and dancing hazel eyes. She seemed to be on the verge of a smile even though she was swearing under her breath.

"What's wrong?" asked Sensor as he sat down on the floor.

"The goddamn comm links are down."

Sensor looked worried at this. "The others know where we are right?"

"Put it this way, if they sent out a search party they wouldn't know where to look or what to look for."

Jenny swallowed slightly and began to get nervous. The girl glanced over and broke into a smile.

"I'm Icestorm by the way. You've already met Sensor. Sorry about the rude removal. We've been looking for you for a week now. When we found out about… well anyway when we found out the Brotherhood and the MRG were after you we panicked. That's why we've had to set up a temporary base. Sensor, try and get those feckin' communications back up."

Sensor nodded and crouched down. Jenny was completely confused now.

"What's the Brotherhood?"

"The Brotherhood of Mutants. They're a mutant-rights activist group. Well, that's what they call themselves. They're actually terrorists and very powerful ones. We've been working to shut them down in Britain since we were formed. Our counterparts in America are doing exactly the same thing. Only it's incredibly hard work because for every one crazy, delusional, half-baked mutant you arrest another three pop out of the woodwork."

Jenny nodded then another thought struck her. "You keep saying 'we'. Do you mean you and Sensor?"

Icestorm looked confused for a split second. "Sensor, why didn't you tell her about us?"

Sensor grunted, "I was running for our lives against Macro and Magneto."

"Really? Manifesto sent Macro? I thought he was going to send Psylocke or Hospice?"

"Yeah? Well he sent Macro."

Icestorm turned back to Jenny. "Sorry about that. I thought Sensor told you. We're the X-Unit. We were formed about six months ago. It's a team of people with unique abilities, like you. It's only small, seven of us if you join. But we work hard. Plus, the X-Men have joined forces with us. They're based in America but Magneto joined another mutant team, the Mutant Rights Group, and they came over to work with us. It's a lot to deal with when some of us haven't hit sixteen. But the X-Men tutor us in the use of our powers and in school stuff."

"How did you know where I was?"

"He," Icestorm jerked her head at Sensor, "can detect other mutants. It's what earned him the name Sensor. He can also become unstoppable when he chooses to be which is how he charged through various obstacles in case you were wondering."

Jenny nodded and spotted a bow and quiver full of arrows lying on the floor.

"They're mine." said Icestorm.

"Are they lethal?"

A grim smile crept across her face. "Oh yes. Very."

Both X-Unit members rose to their feet and Jenny did the same. Sensor grabbed his shield, Icestorm grabbed her bow and arrows and Jenny just followed them out of the house and across the neighbourhood. As they walked the two X-Unit members murmured to each softly. Eventually they arrived at another house, this one slightly better kept, with a black 4x4 parked outside. **(That's an SUV to all our dear American friends :D)** A tall boy appeared, carrying a paper bag. He broke into a grin.

"Well, well, well. Look who finally rocked up."

Icestorm laughed. "Hey big guy. Did Shadowcat tell you to say that?"

The boy laughed and nodded. "Da."

Icestorm rolled her eyes and hurried the other two inside. Jenny followed her into a back room. The house was well furnished but the pictures on the walls weren't the people sat in the room.

"The owners are away for a month." explained one girl.

She was shorter than Icestorm by a head though she also had the hazel eyes and brown hair. The tall boy dumped some food on the table they were sat round. He was attractive and muscled with black hair and blue eyes. An Indian girl was sat there was well, looking as though she was sulking.

"Hey." said Sensor.

The girl got to her feet and stalked off. Sensor rolled her eyes and sat in her vacated seat.

"What pissed Hydra off this time?" asked Icestorm.

The oldest person there shrugged. He was also good-looking with wild black hair swept into twin peaks and he had dark eyes.

"Dunno. Probably that she didn't get ta go."

Jenny had already noticed the Canadian, American and Russian accents. The other girl flounced back in and scowled at Sensor. Icestorm turned to Jenny.

"Meet Hydra, Shadowcat, Colossus and Wolverine."

"Hi. I'm Jenny."

They smiled at her with varying degrees of friendliness.

"Let's pack up and get the hell home. Sensor, you're driving."

Sensor grinned. "Of course I am. Thanks to your generous father."

Wolverine smirked. Jenny looked bewildered so Shadowcat elaborated.

"Wolverine is Icestorm's father. He bought all the X-Unit vehicles. Mine's the black 4x4 outside."

"Oh."

Icestorm grinned and ruffled her father's hair. They packed up and climbed into the car. Jenny fell asleep as soon as the car left South London. When she woke up they were in a run-down area full of warehouses. Jenny glanced over to where Sensor was twiddling the steering wheel. Icestorm was staring out of the window. Sensor pulled up at one warehouse and beeped his horn.

"We're here." he sang.

The various others piled out. Jenny stood to the side awkwardly as they grabbed bags and walked into the warehouse.

"Come on Jen." called Shadowcat.

Jenny walked after them. Inside the warehouse was chaotic and loud. Crates and other pieces of junk adorned the floor and several seemed to have been turned into beds. People were also everywhere, arguing and joking with each other. Food smells emanated from another room and suddenly Jenny was gripped with hunger pangs. Icestorm flashed a lightning bolt towards a large boy made out of metal. Then she laughed and turned to Jenny.

"My real name's Nicky Hammond. Icestorm's my codename. I'm going to show you around and introduce you to everyone else. Feel free to ask any questions."

Jenny smiled slightly and followed Nicky out of the warehouse. She was shown around the perimeter of the warehouse. A body smashed through the window at the side. Nicky yanked Jenny backwards and shielded them both from the flying glass.

"Sorry." said a male voice, sounding anything but sorry.

"So you should be you absolute asshole. This is Jenny Dale. Jenny, this is Joe Birch. Feel free to kick him in the nuts."

Jenny looked up to say hi but the words froze in her throat. The boy stood in front of her wasn't classically good-looking but he had _something_. His blond hair flopped over his forehead and was close-cropped at the sides. His brown eyes sparkled as he grinned over at her.

"Hi. Please don't kick me in the nuts."

"I won't." she smiled shyly.

Nicky watched the scene with amusement. Joe clearly had no idea that Jenny was smitten. Joe and Jenny. There was a joke in there if only she could see it. Maybe she'd ask the others. She cleared her throat and Jenny dragged her gaze away from Joe.

"So why did you fly through a window?" asked Nicky conversationally.

Joe shrugged. "Your boyfriend threw me."

"Who?"

Joe rolled his eyes as though it was obvious. "Cian. We were training, he charged the hammer, slammed it down and bang! I went flying through the window."

"So technically he didn't throw you and he's not my boyfriend."

Joe smirked. Cian and Nicky had flirted since day one of high school. They were practically dating, whether the two of them admitted it or not. The new girl, Jenny, was still stood uncomfortably at Nicky's side. Joe guessed that she was overwhelmed by the noise and confusion of the X-warehouse. Nicky introduced her to everybody and Jenny was forced to sit down with Cian, Jean and Mickey.

"So what are your powers?" asked Cian.

Jenny shrugged, embarrassed. "I don't really know. I sometimes have this… liquid on my hands and if I touch someone while I've got that liquid on my hands… they get hurt. I can tell what people are thinking too. But I can stretch… like elastic."

Jean smiled and said, "I've had a quick read of your mind and I've established that the liquid is a poisonous substance. You're also telepathic."

_Two days later…_

Tara woke up in her crate to see Joe and Cian arguing in low voices by the door. She silently teleported over to listen.

"I don't give a shit." hissed Joe. "She likes you so you'd better goddamn do somethin' about it."

"No she doesn't!" snapped Cian. "It also isn't any of your business!"

Joe snarled back, "It's my business if you upset her! She's like my younger sister! So you'd better have goddamn sorted it out by next week or I will punch into the middle of next week!"

"Fine!"

A new voice called over, "What are you two arguing about?"

Jubilee had sat up and was watching them.

Cian called over, "Nothing. Joe thinks City's better than United."

**(For anyone who doesn't understand this, in Manchester there are two football/soccer team called Manchester City (Man City/City) and Manchester United (Man United/Man U/United). It's a pretty fierce rivalry between the fan bases to say the least.)**

A few laughs floated across the warehouse along with groans from people just waking up. Tara narrowed her eyes and teleported into the bathroom. It was strange, Joe and Cian arguing. Normally they were great friends. When she re-emerged various people were packing clothes.

"What's going on?" asked Tara.

Maria exasperatedly replied, "Don't you _ever_ listen at the weekly meeting? They're going to recruit the other mutant Mickey sensed."

"Oh. Who's going?"

Scott said, "Cian, Nicky, Ororo, Warren and Joe."

Maria was furious that Nicky got to go on both the recruitment missions but it was Cian's decision. So she just watched, sulkily, as they packed up and left, using Cian's car. It was generous of Logan to buy the X-Unit vehicles but she didn't want to feel beholden to a man she disliked intensely.

"Cheer up." said a voice in her ear.

Maria jumped and turned round to see John grinning at her.

"They'll be back soon."

Maria managed a tight smile. John stuck his hands in his pockets and tried to work out a subtle way of asking her out. In the end he realised that while he was trying to work it out he was also staring at her, which was just creepy. Besides subtlety was never his strong point.

"Do you want to show me around Manchester some time?" he asked.

Maria raised one eyebrow. "Fine."

John couldn't explain why he felt like he'd just won the World Cup.

_Somewhere on a motorway…_

Ororo was driving. Cian, being the senior team member, was sat in the front, smirking as he listened to the furious squabbles from the back-seat occupants. Despite the fact that the Range Rover Freelander was _his_ Ororo had taken the keys off him. 'I do not want us to be arrested for underage driving' or some shit like that.

"Move your wings!"

"Mine are on my seat!"

"Yours are bigger!"

"That's not the only the thing that's bigger!"

Warren and Joe were bickering over their wings. It would have made more sense for Nicky to sit in the middle of the two bickering 'angels' (Cian used the term lightly, Joe was a City fan after all) but apparently that wasn't a viable option. Nicky was carsick and she'd told Cian in no uncertain terms that that would not work out well. 'I will throw up if I sit in the middle of those two and I _will_ make sure that you are my target. And you know how good my aim is.'

"FOR GOD'S SAKE SHUT THE FUCK UP!" screamed Nicky.

She wasn't a great traveller and being battered by Joe's wings wasn't helping matters. They shut up and settled for muttering and jabbing each other. Cian glanced at Ororo who was smiling.

"I think we should stop here." said Ororo, indicating an expensive-looking hotel that the three teens had previously only dreamed of. "I am tired and I will not be able to drive for much longer."

Nicky growled, "I don't care as long as I'm away from these two assholes."

Cian piped up, "If you're tired I'll drive. I think we should go as far as we can. After all, this kid's mobile and we need as much of a headstart as possible. We don't have Mickey with us now."

The others agreed and at the next fuel/emptying bladder/letting Nicky throw up stop Cian and Ororo switched places. Joe and Warren managed to reach an agreement over the wing dispute and fell asleep. Ororo followed seconds later. Cian's nose twitched as he drove. Sometimes super senses were a real bitch.

"You know, I've got a direct line of fire here." commented Nicky idly.

That was _not_ the thing you wanted to hear when you were tearing down the fast lane at 90mph in your first car while you were underage. Dammit. He could hear Nicky snickering as he ignored her. He contemplated putting his foot down but he also knew that if he did she would cover the back of his head with her previous meals.

"Wake them up. We're at the Premier Inn."

"Poor Ororo. She's probably never stayed in a one-star hotel before." giggled Nicky as she kicked the 'angels' awake.

They arrived at the Premier Inn and somehow smuggled the bow and arrow, hammer and poisonous gloves past the security guards. They'd somehow got a family room booked and a huge argument erupted between Joe, Cian and Warren over who got the single bed. When Warren won that, there was a huge argument between Cian and Joe over who got the top bunk.

It was settled quickly when Nicky snarled out, "Joe, if you don't want to sleep on the floor get in the bottom bunk. Or I swear to God I will electrocute you."

_The next morning…_

The five recruiters were barrelling down a motorway somewhere in South Britain. Warren vaguely remembered a sign that said 'You are now entering Cornwall' but was in a boredom-induced stupor. Joe had fallen back asleep, his head lolling on Nicky's shoulder and his feathers tickling Warren's face. Cian was in a sulk because Ororo had stolen the car keys off him. Ororo was singing softly to herself and Nicky had her own head resting on Joe's. Then the car screeched to a halt. The occupants looked up and growled at Ororo.

"I am sorry. Look."

They turned their heads and saw a large mob gathering. They had pitchforks, spades, logs on fire and guns.

"Is it just me who think they aren't the welcomin' committee?" asked Cian.

Ororo got out of the car and the others followed her. Warren and Joe made sure to cover their wings.

"What's goin' on?" called Cian.

A man replied, "There's a goddamn mutie! He's been causing trouble since he got here!"

There were furious roars from the crowd as they shook their weapons.

"What's gonna happen when you find him?" asked Joe.

"We're gonna stick 'im!"

The speaker was a boy about Joe's age. The five melted away and found an old barn to set up base in.

"One good thing about Cornwall," decided Cian "is that there's always a barn."

"What do you mean one?" asked Nicky.

Most of her holidays had been spent in the area the five were in. The comm links were fitted and Explosion and Icestorm raced away. Chrome was ordered to keep watch while Storm and Archangel contacted the X-warehouse.

_Somewhere in a Cornish forest…_

Rex ran as fast as he could to get away from the mob. He was pretty sure it had grown in size. He paused for a second, taking a deep breath. His lungs felt as though they were on fire and he couldn't stop panting. There was a howl from behind him and terror shot through him. They had dogs! Rex lurched on and cleared the forest. A field spread out in front of him, trees lining the edges and a river bisecting it. _If I get into the river and run the dogs won't be able to pick up my scent! I'll be able to get out of here, I could head north._ So he ran to the river. There was a log that he used to sit on with his friends but he pushed the memory aside roughly. As he moved forwards there was a sickening crack. His ankle wobbled and he hit the ground. The forerunners came bursting through the undergrowth and Rex gave himself up for dead. His ankle was sprained at the best, broken at the worst. A blast of fire washed over the mob and they screamed.

"Witchcraft! Magic!"

_Witchcraft?! Do they still live in the middle ages?!_ Rex began to drag himself away, not caring where the fire had come from. A pair of hands reached out and dragged him behind a log.

"Stay down!" hissed a voice.

_OK, now things are getting weird._ A thump told him that a second person had landed. Rex took a deep breath and looked towards his right. A boy, younger than him, was twirling a hammer. It began to glow red. Rex was now thoroughly confused. There was the small possibility that they were mutants like him. Two cold hands covered his ears and he nearly yelped in surprise. They were freezing and it felt as though ice was covering his face. The boy smashed the hammer onto the ground. Even with his ears covered Rex could still hear the _BANG_ the hammer made when it smashed onto the ground. A shockwave rippled through the ground. The hands were taken off his face and Rex turned. A girl, also younger than him, was crouched.

"Alright, now we have to get the hell outta here." growled out the boy.

Rex said hesitantly, "Are you mutants?"

"Yep." replied the girl, popping the 'p'. "I'm Icestorm, he's Explosion."

"Rex Malham."

Icestorm pulled an arrow out a quiver, loaded it onto the bow, twisted onto her feet, facing the mob and let go of the string. She ducked back down as the mob roared in anger.

"Nice shot." complimented Explosion.

Icestorm nodded and slung the bow over her back. She got to her feet, drew her arms back and took a deep breath. Rex's jaw dropped open as she turned into ice. Then she pushed her arms forward. A wave of ice rolled out across the field toward the mob. A flick of her hand caused the wave to turn into a tsunami that knocked the mutant-hunters backwards. She ducked back down as a pitchfork was hurled towards her.

"It won't hold them back for long. Some of them were still in the trees. Get him," here she jerked her head at Rex, "to the base."

Explosion argued, "No way! I'm not leaving you here!"

"If you don't we'll all die!"

Explosion sent a blast of fire over the log and ducked back down. Rex, sensing Explosion's anger and Icestorm's impatience, realised that being in between two arguing mutants wasn't a good idea. Explosion let out a noisy sigh.

"Fine. Can you run?" asked Explosion.

Rex nodded nervously.

"Then let's go." he growled out.

"A little cover would be nice first." said Icestorm.

Explosion smiled and sent out a long stream of fire as Icestorm sprang into a tree. Then the two boys ran. Explosion led Rex on a long, convoluted trail throughout the forest. A pair of men with shotguns and spades appeared.

"Freaks." growled out the bald one.

Explosion sprang at the men. When he stepped away they were dead. Three long, bloody twisted bones were sticking out of his knuckles on each hand.

"Let's go."

They ran on until they reached a barn and hurled themselves in. Three other people were sat there. There were two men, both with wings. The third was a woman with blue eyes, white hair and mocha skin. Rex didn't have time to work out what they were doing because at that moment he passed out.


	7. Spies

Rex woke up in a warehouse. He got to his feet and tested his ankle.

"It's fine. It was only a sprain so be gentle with it." instructed a redhead.

Rex nodded and sat on a crate.

"So what is this place?" asked Rex.

Cian woke up just as Rex posed the question. He pulled himself to his feet and explained as quickly as he could. Logan wandered over and dumped some toast on his lap.

"Thanks."

"Don't. It's from Maria." growled out the Canadian.

Cian shrugged and glanced over to look at the short teen. His yellow eyes were flickering around the base and his short brown hair stood up in spikes.

"So what can you do?" asked Cian.

"I can turn into a wolf and become invisible. I had a lotta fun on April Fool's Day." grinned Rex. "But I also adapt to survive."

"Codename?"

"Lupo. It's kinda like Lupine which means wolf-like."

"Cian O'Malley."

The other members of the X-Unit and X-Men were introduced. Rex grinned at them all. Logan offered him the keys to the last vehicle. Rex's jaw dropped when he realised it was a Lamborghini Aventador, his dream car.

"Th-thanks."

Logan shrugged. "I've got too much money and now I can spend it."

"We've got training today!" called Scott.

"No we've not!" replied Cian. "There's a lot of suspicious activity in South Manchester. I think we should check it out."

"Maybe but I'm senior to-"

Cian sprang to his feet, his claws on display. Bobby and Nicky got to their feet, ready to cool both the optic blasts and the fire that could erupt.

"You'd better not be about to say that you're senior to me. I'm the leader of the X-Unit and this is _our_ city and _our_ country! There isn't a Brit among you!"

"I'm older than you and I've led more people on riskier missions!"

Cian spat at Scott's feet. "Bullshit! It wasn't risky then, us fighting for our lives with next to no training against our former mentor?!"

"We've saved politicians and dignitaries!"

Cian narrowed his eyes and icily said, "Fine. Go ahead. Train the X-Men. They're your team. But… I don't answer to you and I never will. So I'll take the X-Unit to South Manchester and we'll investigate it. Get your weapons!"

The X-Unit started to get to their feet.

"Stay where you are." ground out Scott. "We need to train."

Cian barked out, "I gave you an order!"

Nicky grabbed her bow and arrow and tossed Rex a crossbow.

"Can you shoot?"

"I took archery lessons."

Nicky glanced at Cian and shrugged. "That's gonna have to be good enough."

The X-Unit piled into two vehicles, Cian's Freelander and Mickey's Kuga. Logan watched them go and glared at Scott.

"What's your problem?" spat Scott.

"I ain't trainin'." scowled Logan as he sat on a crate.

_Meanwhile at the warehouse..._

Explosion and Sensor parked the cars and the X-Unit disembarked.

"I assume we have a plan." said Icestorm.

Hydra glared at her. Explosion rolled his eyes and transferred his hammer from hand to hand.

"Of course. Don't I always?"

"No."

"Shut up Chrome."

Chrome smirked but shut up.

"The plan is this. Icestorm, get us in. I'll tell you the rest of the plan when we're inside."

Icestorm nodded and crouched next to the door. Within seconds the lock was picked and the door swung open.

"Where did you learn to do that?" asked Toxin.

Icestorm said dryly, "I have a lot of relatives who are inside for lock-picking."

Toxin nodded and followed the others inside. It was dimly lit inside with dozens of corridors branching off in every direction.

"It used to be a factory." explained Explosion. "Now it's disused."

There was a clang that echoed throughout the halls. The X-Unit tensed and glanced around.

"What was that?" hissed Hydra.

"A mutant. There's a lot here." murmured Sensor. "What's the plan?"

Explosion growled out, "Icestorm and Lupo, head up that thingy there."

"That thingy's a production line." muttered Chrome.

"Whatever! Climb up it and follow it. You two are ideally designed to spy. If you see an MRG or Brother take them down if you can. If it's going to cause suspicion, don't. Right now, they don't know we're here and I'd like to keep it that way."

Lupo clambered up the ladder onto another horizontal one. Some parts were solid before breaking off into rungs. He muttered under his breath as he slipped. Icestorm on the other hand took a running jump, bounced off the opposite wall and grabbed hold of the outer line of the ladder. She swung herself up and grinned at him.

"Piece of cake. Now we just have to keep our balance, suss out the place and not get spotted. What could be easier?"

Lupo snickered. Down below Explosion was outlining the rest of the plan.

"Sensor, Hydra, I want you two to find the centre of this shit hole. Shadow you're coming with me. Chrome, Toxin, you two are coming with me as well. We'll take down as many as we can, silently Chrome. Then we'll find Sensor and Hydra and try to cause some serious injury before Shadow gets us outta there."

They nodded and split up.

Explosion called, "Icestorm! You just gonna stand there?!"

Icestorm smirked and replied, "I'm gone."

Explosion hurried away. Icestorm sprang from rung to rung, hugging the wall. Lupo followed her, keeping quiet until he caught a scent with his sharp nose.

"Icestorm! Stay low. There's people about."

Icestorm flashed him a grin and drew herself into the shadows. Two men were stood in the corridor below them. One of them was built like a tank and the other was slim with brown hair.

"Why do they want to kill little kids, though?" asked the tank.

Icestorm frowned and edged closer. The slim one rolled his eyes. Clearly this conversation had been had before.

"Because they're human."

"I got a nephew who's human. He's real sweet."

"Look, Wynne, I don't know how to put this any other way. Remember the kids that beat the shit outta you? The kids that wouldn't leave you alone until you had to make them?"

Wynne, the tank, nodded slowly. He opened his mouth to form another question but the slim one cut him off.

"The kids are just going to grow into those. It's more mutant haters, more murderers whose only aim is to kill you and your children. It isn't difficult to understand!"

Wynne scowled. "Don't call me stupid Madrox! I'm jus' saying. It's real hard to hurt kids."

Madrox glared at him. "C'mon. We need to check the south side."

The two of them walked away. Icestorm looked over at Lupo. Together they crept along the ladder to another room. It looked as though it was a planning room. There was a map and several people discussing.

"Go down there and look at that map." hissed Icestorm.

"They'll see me!"

Icestorm looked at him like he was stupid and snarled back, "You turn invisible, don't you?"

"Oh yeah."

Meanwhile, in another part of the warehouse, Sensor and Hydra were creeping along a wall.

"Well? Are we nearly there?" she hissed.

Sensor growled out, "Almost! Just shut up, OK? I've found the centre and I need you to concentrate on contacting the others."

As Hydra opened her mouth to speak Icestorm's voice crackled through the comm link.

"When you two have finished sniping at each other, I and Lupo have been working."

Explosion said, "What've you got?"

"We've found out that they've planned to attack a school. They also know somebody's here."

"How?!" hissed Toxin.

"Madrox and a guy called Wynne discovered that the door we entered by was open. Last time they'd checked, it was locked. Three minutes later they worked out that someone was in. We've got all the details about the attack but we need to get out of here, _now_." stressed Lupo.

"Got it. We'll meet you at the door in five minutes. Sensor, Hydra, do you copy?" muttered Explosion.

"We copy."

Five minutes later the seven met outside the door. There were voices and footsteps running.

"Shit!" cursed Chrome.

Icestorm tried the door but it was locked.

"Pick it!"

"No time." said Icestorm. "By the time it's open they'll be here, we'll be captured and done for."

"Stand back." said Explosion stonily.

The other six jumped out of the way as he charged his hammer. The red light began to glow around the hammer as he slammed it onto the door. The resulting bang deafened them but they ran outside and sprang into the cars. The Brotherhood and MRG rushed out. Projectiles were thrown at them as they screeched round the corner.

"That was close." mused Hydra.

"Too damn close." growled Sensor.

When they arrived back at the X-warehouse Rex and Nicky rapidly explained to the X-Men what happened.

"So we overheard Madrox and Wynne talking about attacking a school. We moved on a bit and found a tactical room. Lupo turned invisible and did his thing."

Rex grinned and took over. "I crept over and looked at the map. They'd marked a high school and written a date on it. For Friday next week. They were talking about fire-power and how easy it would be to send in a couple of hard-hitters and have the job done with. They're planning to annihilate it."

"Then we'll stop them. With or without the X-Men." said Cian.

"We'll stand with you." Scott muttered. "We can't let them do that."

**OK, this has been completely romance-free apart from the RoLo. So… next chapter's got a little romance!**


	8. Big Battle Time!

Cian glanced over at Nicky. They'd been training for four days straight without a break and most people were feeling the strain. She, however, was making improvements to her bow and arrows.

"Hey."

"Hi. Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I am. Did Jenny create the telepathic link between you and the bow?"

"Yes." said Nicky tersely.

Cian persisted. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing."

"Don't bullshit me."

Nicky shrugged and aimed at Callisto. She let go of the arrow, thankfully it had a sucker on the end instead of a point. Callisto barely dodged in time.

"What was that for?" she called.

"Keeping your reflexes sharp."

Scott and Jean were arguing _again_. Cian was pretty sure it wasn't good for team harmony.

"I'm just saying! You pay more attention to Warren than me!"

"Who wouldn't?! Anyway, you're just being paranoid."

Warren chimed in, "Honestly Scott. There's nothing going on. I'm seeing Alison Blaire back home."

Jean looked like she'd been slapped. Rex fired a bolt at Joe who blasted it apart. Logan walked over.

"Move Big Bang guy."

Cian grinned and got to his feet. Logan sat down next to Nicky.

"Alright cub. What's goin' on?"

Nicky shrugged and opened her mouth to speak but Logan cut her off.

"Don't even think about sayin' nothin'. 'Cos that's bullshit. Ya bothered. Ya bothered more than anyone else. Why?"

"Because. Because I know what Manifesto will do. The others, in the back of their minds, think he won't hurt them because he trained them. But… he doesn't care. He doesn't care that he helped them in their powers. He wants something and what he wants he gets. He's going to try and kill us."

Logan understood instantly. Nicky was the one who'd suffered the most at the hands of the MRG. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer to him.

"We're gonna win. Because we always do. We've trained fer this and we've got somethin' they haven't. Conviction and loyalty. We are gonna win this."

"Thanks Dad."

Logan kissed the top of her head and went back to training. She shot an arrow at his back. He spun and sliced the arrow with his claws.

"Haha."

Nicky grinned and went back to close-combat training with Piotr.

_Friday, the day of the attack…_

The convoy of vehicles containing the X-Men and the X-Unit drew up outside the school. Manifesto was leading his troops in. Wolverine swore under his breath when he saw how many there were.

"Well quite." said Icestorm.

Explosion glanced back at the cars and narrowed his eyes. A plan was formulating in his mind but for it to work Cyclops was going to have to stop being a pain up the arse.

"Alright. I've got a plan. Callisto, you're in charge of evacuation. Get the kids out. Lupo, you need to go with her. Find a rooftop and snipe. Any MRG or Brothers who come looking for trouble, give it to them. Phoenix, you need to heal any injured people. That includes us. Tell us your location and any injured are to get their butts out there. Rogue, you're on defence with Jubilee. Archangel, I want you flying over, reporting any attackers to them. Shadowcat, Shadow, you two are on rescue duty. Find 'em and bring 'em back to Phoenix. Go!"

Cyclops scowled but said nothing. The last thing they needed was an argument. Explosion clearly knew what he was doing and, the more devious side of him kicked into action, if it went wrong Explosion would bear the full brunt of recriminations.

"And what about the rest of us?" asked Chrome when the others had run off. "You weren't planning on leaving us out of the fun were you?"

Explosion grinned widely. "Never. I'll take Toxin and Sensor into the main part of the fight. Wolverine, Iceman and Gambit will attack from the other side of the school. Storm, Chrome and Pyro, I want you to navigate through the corridors, pick off as many as you can. Hydra, Colossus and Cyclops, you three are going to sweep the grounds."

There was a cough from behind Explosion.

"You weren't planning to leave me out, were you? 'Cos if you were, we'll be having more than words." said Icestorm calmly.

Explosion replied easily, "I wouldn't dare. You're on the top floor, picking off as many as you can. Then… you're getting on the roof and making sure nobody leaves the school."

"Even you?"

"Only when I tell you. Manifesto and Mystique are shape-shifters."

Icestorm nodded and nocked an arrow onto her bow. The teams split up and ran off. Explosion led his team towards the main scent of mutants. Sensor shifted his shield slightly. Explosion tightened his grip on his hammer as they crept forwards. Nine mutants, bearing the same brown and green uniform, appeared wielding blades. Explosion cursed under his breath. _We're still in the bloody field and nine of them are on us! How many are inside?!_ But he didn't let this worrying thought bother him. Instead he sent a surge of fire towards some, burning them. Two fell to the floor, dead. Another two crumpled to the ground and lay there, barely breathing. The fifth escaped with a long burn down her side.

"You'll pay for this! They'll lock you up!" she screamed as she fled.

"EXPLOSION!" screeched Toxin, too busy with her own MRG to help.

Explosion whipped round and saw a huge man charging him. He popped his claws and braced himself. The man slammed into him, tossing him into the air. Explosion hit the ground hard. His breath was driven out of him as someone lifted him into the air.

"So… you thought you could fight me, did you? I'm Manifesto's right-hand man."

"Bully for you." growled out Explosion.

The man threw him to the ground. Explosion did a flip so he was looking up at his attacker. The huge man had blood pouring from three puncture wounds. He was staggering but clearly his strength wasn't diminished. Explosion stumbled to his feet, whirling the hammer. He could feel the charge building up in it… charge enough to blast the school to the ground, should he choose to do it. Instead, he focussed the power into the hammer and hurled it with all his strength. It hit the man in the chest, causing a small concentrated explosion. Though the explosion was small, its force wasn't. The man disintegrated as the red light washed over.

"Jesus Explosion! Do you think he's dead?!" cried Sensor.

During the fight, though he hadn't got rid of as many as Explosion he'd dispatched two with minimum effort. As one sprang towards him, knife out, Sensor whipped his shield up. He heard the clang and staggered slightly as the MRG minion landed heavily on his shield. Swearing under his breath he flicked his quills out. A second tried to attack from behind and was rewarded with a swift kick and a quill, expertly pitched into his throat. Gurgling, he sank to the ground.

"You'll pay for this! They'll lock you up!" screamed a woman.

Whether she was talking to Explosion or Toxin he couldn't tell and at that moment Sensor didn't actually care. He dropped his shield to his side and looked at the MRG minion. _We really need to think of a snappy name for them. There's a Brother, an X-Man but there's nothing for them. Huh._ A blade shot past his ear. _Probably not the best time to think about it. _Instead Sensor threw his shield with all his might at the minion. It curved, like a boomerang, slicing off her head and fitting back onto his arm. Then he heard the explosion.

"Jesus Explosion! Do you think he's dead?!"

It probably wasn't the cleverest of remarks but it scared the shit out of him. Explosion glared at him and sheathed his claws.

"No. I think it's a cover-up like they did to Elvis."

Sensor opened his mouth to snap back but Toxin interrupted them.

"Do you think we could actually get into the building now? Or would you two rather have a battle of witless, sarcastic quips?"

The boys exchanged shamefaced looks and darted into the building. Toxin glared after them and hurried along. More Brotherhood members dropped onto them, also clutching weapons. Toxin sighed and drew her katanas.

"Let's go to work." she said.

The boys snickered and readied their own weapons. Toxin thrust one katana at a man. He blocked it with his own and aimed to stab her. Toxin, however, responded by thrusting her sword into the man's foot. Within seconds he gasped, fell to the floor, convulsed and died. A woman roared in fury and grief before springing at Toxin. Toxin responded with a quick lash across the woman's face.

"What kind of sword is that?!" she gasped out.

"A katana. Dipped in poison strong enough to kill a blue whale." replied Toxin, cleaning her sword and placing it back into its sheath.

"Where did you get such poison?" asked a third.

He was limping but just able to stand. He was also ready to run.

"Me." answered Toxin icily. "That's how I got the name Toxin."

His thoughts flashed through her mind as he fled.

"You're telepathic, right?" asked Explosion.

"Yes. Why?"

He shrugged. "Just wondered why you didn't know their moves?"

Toxin mimicked his shrug. "My telepathy is not that strong. I can tell feelings and surface thoughts but beyond that… I can also tell what emotion people are feeling and whether or not they are telling the truth. I can also tell when somebody is concealing themselves!"

With that she turned and stabbed her katana into a seemingly innocent wall. Milliseconds later a woman tumbled to the floor, her eyes glazed. The three smirked at each other. Explosion touched his comm link.

"Wolverine? Where are you?"

"About ta hit the centre. Give me… two minutes and there'll be one hell o' a fight if ya care ta join in."

Wolverine heard Explosion laugh as he said, "Give _us_ five."

He turned to Iceman and Gambit and nodded. Gambit grinned as he grabbed a playing card, charged it and threw it at a wall. The resulting explosion knocked out, maimed or killed several of the MRG. Wolverine didn't have time to congratulate the Cajun as they were attacked by yet more. Wolverine recognised Quill from Alcatraz.

"You!" screeched Quill as he flicked them out.

Wolverine sliced the few spikes the Brother managed to get out in half before stabbing him through the chest.

"You're fighting for a lost cause Wolverine." he murmured as he slid into unconsciousness.

"At least I've got a reason to live."

Iceman heard Wolverine's snarled words as he pulled the adamantium out of the dead mutant's body. He glanced over at him before punching someone in the stomach and freezing their head. He smashed it and used the dead body as a shield from a throwing star. _I'll give them this. The Brotherhood and MRG sure know how to find inventive weapons._ He took a deep breath and froze the man. Iceman was slammed onto the floor by something heavy. He coughed and the weight was lifted. He rolled over to see Gambit shoving the body away.

"De Wolverine, he slam de body away and it land on yu. Remy opened the door to de main hall. De place is crawlin' wid MRG."

Iceman smiled and said, "Sometimes, I'm really glad to be on your team."

Gambit grinned. "Isn't everybody?"

They followed Wolverine into the main hall. Gambit charged his staff and punched somebody clean through the chest with it. His playing cards quickly scattered themselves as he punched and fought his way across the room. Wolverine stabbed a man, tossed him to Gambit who charged the body and threw it into the centre of the room. A man charged over. Gambit hit him with one side of his Bo staff, kicked him and then shoved him backwards.

"Nice one Gumbo. Didn't know ya had it in ya."

"Icestorm!" Chrome's shout cut across their comm links. "Icestorm if you can hear me, fuckin' answer me!"

"I'm here, no need to get your knickers in a twist."

"Are you alright?!"

In a voice heavily laced with sarcasm, Icestorm replied, "I'm just peachy. Oh, by the way, the lights are going to blackout in a few minutes."

"Why?!" shouted Storm.

"Because I'm about to short-circuit them. So get a target ready boys and girls. One, two, three. Shortage!"

Icestorm turned her head and blasted a lightning bolt into the fuse box. The lights vanished and she ran on into the darkness.

"What is going on?!" hissed someone.

Somebody else replied in a foreign language. A third person translated.

"He says that somebody caused a massive power surge. He can fix it but he needs us to cover him."

"Right. So what do we do?"

There was a rapid murmuring and the lights came back on. Icestorm fired three arrows into the men and sighed. Her comm link had cut out.

"For fuck's sake. Why does nothing go right?"

She pulled the arrows out and slipped them back into her quiver. She'd taken out two enemy snipers already, all she needed to do now was take out the other eight and their guards. Plus, any random patrols. The floor was rocked by an explosion and she smirked. The MRG and Brotherhood were going to be very preoccupied with the fight down on the ground hall. She pulled out her comm link and dropped it on the floor. It was broken beyond repair, probably something to do with the guy who could fix fuse boxes.

"Where is she?!"

"How should I know? Follow the ice!"

Icestorm cursed under her breath and moved swiftly. Picking the lock to a classroom door she slipped in and crouched at the back. Taking a deep breath she fitted an arrow to the string. _We're gonna win. Because we always do. Conviction and loyalty. We are gonna win this. _The door burst open and three men appeared. Icestorm let an arrow fly into one man's head, shocked another with a lightning bolt and sprang across the room to break the third's neck. Darting out of the room, she ran down to where the next sniper was. A bullet smashed a window beside her. Icestorm smiled slightly as her body turned to ice. Spinning round, she formed an ice ball and threw at the gunman. _You get hit by one of these, you stay down._ Eight snipers later she heard a voice.

"Alright, so what do we know?" asked Manifesto.

"Macro's dead. And somebody's taken out our snipers and electropath."

"Their wounds?"

"Electrocuted. Broken neck. Arrow."

"Icestorm." growled out Manifesto.

Hospice looked at her leader and waited for his decision. Manifesto narrowed his eyes.

"What are her weaknesses?"

"I don't know. Fire probably. I don't know any others."

"Take away her bow and arrows and she is as good as dead."

Manifesto smiled. "Then let's do it."

Hospice walked forwards and stopped. The girl she remembered from the shopping centre was stood there, bow in hand.

"This won't be pretty." said Icestorm easily.

Hospice leapt at her. Icestorm jumped backwards and wrapped her bow around Hospice's neck.

"Mani-Manifesto! I- she's st-strangling m-me!"

Manifesto slashed the bow string with a knife. Hospice fell to the floor, massaging her throat.

"You are _so_ gonna pay for that." said Icestorm.

The next second she'd snapped a leg out, catching Hospice on the back of the head. Manifesto looked at his former protégée in shock. He had taught them no hand-to-hand combat skills yet here she was, easily holding her own. Icestorm shrugged the quiver off and flung it backwards. Manifesto moved to hit her but she headbutted him and jumped to the other side of the corridor.

"Bring it on old man."

Manifesto started to create a dupe but Icestorm's lightning blasts destroyed them before they could move. Hospice ran at her. Icestorm sprang into the air, landed on Hospice's neck and hit her hard. The older woman crumpled. Manifesto used the metal on her belt to pull her back to him and ordered the MRG and Brotherhood to pull out. Icestorm watched them go out of a window. The X-Men and X-Unit followed them outside. Explosion touched his ear. Icestorm could hear him furiously shouting.

"ICESTORM! FOR FUCK'S SAKE ANSWER YOUR FUCKING COMM!"

Icestorm sprang out of the window, rolling onto her feet.

"It broke." she said.

Explosion snorted and they headed back to the X-warehouse. The evacuation team was also back.

"We've ordered two minibuses for tomorrow." Scott muttered. "You don't need us any more."

Cian nodded. "Alright. We'll… we'll miss you."

"Not all of us are going." Piotr piped up.

Several people looked at each other in shock.

"Scott, I want a holiday here." demanded Jean.

"Fine. Go ahead. The engagement's cancelled by the way."

"What?!"

Scott shrugged. "You flirt with every guy you meet. I also know that you and Logan slept together."

Logan opened his mouth to defend himself but obviously thought better of it.

"I know you were… persuaded Logan. So Jean, it's over."

"Then I quit."

Jean grabbed her stuff and walked out.

"Well that was dramatic." quipped Rex.

The X-Unit fought back the snickers as the X-Men glared at them.

"Alright, who is staying?" asked Scott tensely.

"I am. I'm stickin' wi' my kid." growled out Logan.

It took less than ten minutes for them to establish that not only was Logan transferring to the X-Unit he was bringing with him Piotr, Kitty and Jubilee. Ororo had also transferred herself over to the X-Unit even though it meant taking a demotion. Maria on the other hand was moving to America.

"What?! What about school?" asked Mickey in disbelief.

"I will be taught at the Xavier's Institute for Gifted Youngsters. I have always wanted to live in America."

"Good luck. I hope you have fun." said Nicky, for once in her life not making a joke.

Maria smiled and nodded. "I hope you have success."

The next day the remaining X-Men and Maria left, John and Maria hand-in-hand and Scott and Callisto also hand-in-hand.

"Well… guess we'd better clear up after the mess."


End file.
